Polyacrylate esters with quaternary ammonium groups are known and are used as cationic auxiliaries, especially to flocculate solid particles in sewage (European published application 176,757), for the antistatic finishing of textile fibers (German Offenlegungsschrift 2,242,914), to improve the dyeability of wool and to produce electrically conducting duplicating paper or as hair setting lotion (German Offenlegungsschrift 2,423,182).
The known polyacrylate esters with quaternary ammonium groups are synthesized, according to the state of the art, by the copolymerization of acrylate esters, especially methyl acrylates and acrylate ester derivatives, which have quaternary ammonium groups.
As acrylate ester derivatives with quaternary ammonium groups, compounds such as (meth)acryloyloxyethyl- or (meth)acryloyloxypropyltrialkyl- or -dialkylbenzylammonium halides are used, the alkyl groups having, in particular, 1 to 3 carbon atoms. In addition, other monomers, such as styrene, methyl-, ethyl-, butyl- and/or dodecyl (meth)acrylate, vinyl acetate, vinyl propionate, N-vinylpyrrolidone, acrylamide and/or acrylonitrile can be copolymerized.
The free radical copolymerization of the aforementioned monomers results in polymers with a very wide distribution of molecular weights. The molecular weight distribution curve accordingly is relatively flat and, moreover, has two or more maxima, which indicate that the polymerization product is relatively heterogeneous. It may be assumed that the reason for this lies in the copolymerization parameters of the individual monomers, which deviate considerably from the ratio of 1, and is the result particularly of the ionic character of the monomers with quaternary ammonium groups.
It has, moreover, been ascertained that moieties which are physiologically questionable and may also have toxic properties, are contained in the polymers obtained by copolymerization. It may be assumed that these unwanted properties can be ascribed to the low molecular weight moieties of the polymer. The removal of these fractions or moieties from the polymer in an economical manner is not possible. For many applications, however, especially in cosmetics, the physiological safety of products is an imperative prerequisite for their usability. It is therefore of particular interest to prepare polyacrylate esters with quaternary ammonium groups, which are free of physiologically questionable components.
The use of an anionic polymerization method, similar to that described in the German Offenlegungsschrift 2,262,588 for the synthesis of acrylate polymers with a molecular weight of 500 to 5,000, does not represent a usable solution for the aforementioned objective. The danger that the reaction products will gel, is high. Moreover, the conversion of an anionic polymerizing method to an industrial scale is also beset with problems that are related to safety.